US773452A - Conveyer. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904. M. T. ASH.

CONVEYER.

APPLIOATION FILED mo. 26, 190s..

` 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

NO MODEL.

No. 773,452. PATBNTBD OCT. 25, 1904.. M. T. ASH.

CONVEYER.

APPLIOATION FILED Dnze, 1903-. No MODEL. la sHnnTsFsHBBT z.'

No.. 773,452. l PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

M. T. ASH. l CONVEYER.

- APPLICATION FILED DB0. 2e, 1903. Y l No MODEL. s SHEETS-SHEET a.

llNrTnD STATES Patented october 25, 190e.

PATENT Ormea.

CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 773,452, dated October y25, 1904.

Application iile December 26, 1903. Serial No. 186,612. (No model.)

To @ZZ wiz/0m, t 71am/ concern:

Be it known that I, MARsnLIUs 'I`. ASH, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to that class of conveyers usually comprising chains running over sprockets or other driving-wheels and supporting the conveyer-buckets; and my invention has for one of its important objects to provide improved means whereby ropes or cables may be substituted for such chains without permitting one of the cables or one side of the conveyer to lag behind the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide the sheaves by which the ropes or cables are driven with automatic gripping means, which will prevent them from slipping; and a further object of the invention is to provide an improved and simple device for attaching the buckets to the cables at any desired point.

lith these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved conveyer mechanism, partly broken away and partly in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail side elevation of the clip for attaching the bucket to the cable. Fig. Quis a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a section thereof on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the conveyer mechanism on the line 4 4, Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 5 5, Fig. 4, showing one of the ratchet-wheels broken away and on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation of the ratchet mechanism. Fig. 7 is a vertical section thereof on the line 7 7 Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 9 is an enlarged transverse section of the rim of the driving-sheave, taken on the line 9 9, Fig. lO, showing the clutch; and Fig. 10 is a side elevation thereof.

l 2 are two ropes or cables running parallel with each other and which are substitutes for the sprocket-chains or belts heretofore employed for supporting the conveyer-buckets 3 and are usually, but not necessarily, continuous. In the drawings one lap or fold only of the ropes or cables l 2 is shown; but

sheaves 5 being drivers mounted on a suitable driving-shaft 6, deriving its motion from a gear 7, connected in any appropriate way with a suitable source of power not necessary to illustrate and imparting rotation to the sheaves 5 through the intermediary of the improved mechanism which will be presently described. rIhe buckets 3 are provided with trunnions 8 on both sides, mounted in side wheels 9, which run on suitable rails or tracks l0, as usual in mechanism of this character, thus supporting the buckets independently of the ropes or cables 1 2, which are employed for propelling the buckets along the rails.

In conveyer mechanisms of this character sprocket-chains instead of thecables l 2 have heretofore been regarded as the most appropriate means of propelling the buckets, because such chains in conjunction with the sprocket-wheels employed in the place of the sheaves 4 5 are able to propel the buckets without getting out of time with each otherthat is to say, without one chain either creeping ahead or lagging behind the other-thus giving the buckets a wrong position on their tracks or rails l0 and eventually causing them to meet with accident or become inoperative, and while the ropes or cables heretofore employed have been open to these objections the chains, on the other hand, are also objectionable in that they are expensive and owing to the great amount of dust and grit employed in mechanisms of this character they soon wear out. In order, therefore, that the cables may be employed as substitutes for chains without these objections, I provide automatic mechanism whereby either side of the conveyer--that is, either of the cables-will be IOO advanced sufficiently to bring the buckets into a position exactly square with their line of movement as soon as that side lags behind, or, generically stated, the cables or sides of the conveyer are adjusted relatively before they lose their proper relation to any material degree, and in the exemplitication of my invention shown in the drawings this is preferably accomplished by advancing the lagging side instead of retarding the advanced side. To this end the sheaves 5 are mounted loosely upon driving-shaft 6 and held in place by any suitable means, such as collars 11, and each of said sheaves is connected to an independent driving' mechanism, said driving mechanisms being duplicates of cach other, and therefore a description of one will suffice for both. The side ofthe sheave opposite the collar 11 is formed with a sleeve 12, which is secured to or formed on a ratchet-wheel 13, constituting one of the members of such driving` mechanism, and which ratchet is also loosely mounted upon the shaft 6, but adjacent to the ratchet and keyed to the shaft is a pawl-arm 14, which carries a pawl 15, engaging with the teeth of the ratchet, and consequently serving to drive the sheave 5 when the shaft 6 is rotated, and thereby impart motion to the cables 1 2 for propelling the buckets. Pivoted at 16 to the outer end of the revolving arm 14 is a lever 17, carrying a second pawl 18, also engaging the teeth of the ratchet 13, andthe inner end of this arm 17 carries a stud or antifrictionroller 19, engaging in a cam 20, havingacirn cular cam groove or way 21, in which the stud or antifriction-roller 19 engages, and from one side of which way or groove 21 leads a branch way or groove 22, which, together with one-half of the way or groove 21, constitutes an elongated or oval-shaped way, in which the stud or roller 19 at times may be caused to travel. Under normal conditions, however, the stud or roller 19 remains in the circular way 21 as the pawl-arm -14 revolves with the shaft 6, and consequently the lever 17 does not at such time vchange its relation to the arm 14; but it is obvious that if during the revolution of the arm 14 in the direction of the arrow in F ig. 5the stud or roller 19 should be switched or defiected into the branch 22 of the cam-groove the lever 17 would be caused to move outwardly at its lower end as the roller 19 approached the outer end of the branch 22, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and then move inwardly to its inner place as the roller19 again neared the circular way 21. In doing this the pawl 18 would of course be first dragged backwardly over the teeth of ratchet 13 and then advancedagainst said teeth, pushing the ratchet-wheel 13 forward faster than the movement of the pawl 15 as the roller 19 returned to its former position, (indicated in full lines in Fig. 5.) In doing' this that one of the sheaves 5 to which the ratchet 13 thus acted or attached would cause its cable to move forward faster than the cable on the other side, and consequently compensate for any lag that might have been caused by extra strain or stretching of one cable or shrinkage of the other. Until such irregularity in the position of the buckets or cables occurs the roller 19 will travel in its circular way 21 and the lever 17 will remain inert; but when such irregularity occurs the roller 19 will be switched from its circular way 21 by a suitable Vswitch 23, provided in the cam 20 and having two projections or ends 24 25, the former of which is adapted to be thrown upwardly to intercept the roller 19 and cause it to travel in the branch groove 22, and the latter end or projection 25, which constitutes a trip, is adapted to stand partially across the branch groove 22 when the end 24 intercepts the circular groove 21, so that the trip 25 will be engaged by the roller 19 and the switch thereby immediately returned to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5, thus preventing the roller 19 from making more than one excursion around the branch 22 until the switch 23 is again thrown upwardly. The switch 23 is thus actuated to deflect the roller 19 from the'circular groove 21 by a rocker-arm 26, (see Fig. 6,) secured to a rocker-shaft 27, on which the switch 23 is mounted, and with a crank-pin 28, on which rocker-arm 26 engages the lower end of arod 29, whose upper end has connection with any suitable mechanism for causing the rod 29 to be depressed in the event the end of the bucket 3 on the opposite side of the conveyer should go ahead of the other end. For eX- ample, the upper end of the rod 29 is pivoted to one end of a lever 30, supported in a suitable hanger 31 and pivotally connected to one end of a walking-beam 32, which hasa slot 33, whereby it may be supported on a pivot 34, pivoted on a suitable hanger 35. The opposite end of walking-beam 32 is pivotally secured to a lever 36, supportedfrom a hanger 37, and this lever 36 in turn is pivoted to the upper end of an operating-rod 38, arranged on the side of the conveyer opposite the rod 29 and connected at its lower end to the rockerarm 26 on that side. On both sides of the conveyer at suitable intervals apart vare arranged traveling trips 39, which move with the cables 1 2 and bear a fixed relation to the ends of the buckets or to the track-wheels 9. 1f desired, these trips 39 may be mounted upon the journal-boxes or trunnions 3, and they are adapted to engage with shoes 40, one of which is arranged over each of the cables and in line with the trips 39 traveling therewith, and these shoes 40 are secured to the lower ends of two rods 41 42, respectively, whose upper ends are pivotally connected to the walking-beam 32, the rods 41 42 being held by suitable guides 43 and supported in their proper relation to the shoes 40 by any IOO ICS

IIO

suitable stops, such as collars 44, secured thereto and adapted to strike the upper ends of the guides 43, each of the rods 41 42, if de sired, being also pulled downwardly into normal position by spring 45.

Tit-h the mechanism thus described it will be seen that should the trips 39 on any one of the buckets be in proper alinement with each other-that is, in a line at right angles to the cables-they will strike and lift their respective shoes 40 simultaneously and the walking-beam 32 will be lifted bodily with reference to its pivot 34, and consequently both rods 29 38 will be simultaneously elevated without actuatingl or molesting either of the rockerarms 26, which control the switches 23; but should one of the trips 39 be slightly in advance of the other, or suflciently so to cause one of the shoes 40 to lift in advance of the other one, the shoe 40, which is first raised, will push upwardly on its rod 41 or 42 and tilt the walking-beam 32. Thus, for example, supposing the rod 41 to be the one pushed upwardly in advance of' the other, it would lift the rod 29 and by pulling downwardlyon the lever 36 depress the rod 38 against rocker-arm 26, and thereby throw the switch 23 upwardly on the side of the conveyer opposite the rod 41 which was first to rise, and by thus lifting` switch 23 throw into operation the ratchet mechanism controlling the ratchet 18 and advance the cable on that side. If the advance thus effected by one oscillation of the ratchet-lever 17 should not be sufficient to bring the bucket into proper position, or at right angles to the cables, the operation would be repeated as soon as the trip 39 on the next bucket reaches the 'shoe 40.

1n order that the rods 29 38 may rise simultaneously, as before described, without operating the rocker-arms 26, the connection between said rocker-arms and rods is effected by means of a slot 46, enabling the rod to slide over the pin 28 when rising and to engage and depress the pin when descending. The switch 23 may be held in position until positively tripped by rocker-arm 26 in one direction or by the trip 25 in the other direction by a spring 47, fixed to one end ofthe cam 2O and at the other end to the rocker-arm 26 in such a way as to hold the arm 26 on either side of the center in which it may be placed, the arm 26 being thrown downwardly by the rod 41 or 42 and thrown upwardly by the trip 25 when engaget'l by roller 19.

1t is of course understood that the cam 2O is fixed with relation to the revolving pawlarm 14, and this may be accomplished in any suitable way, as by bracket 48, secured to the standard 49, which supports the end of shaft 6.

In order that the d riving-sheaves 5 may grip the cables with sufficient firmness to propel them materially, such sheaves are provided with automatic grips. (Shown more clearly in detail in Figs. 9 and l0.) These grips com- 65 downwardly against the cable.

of the box, therefore, are formed with projecprise jaws 50, each pivoted in a pair'of slides 51, secured to the side of the sheave 5 by means of bolts or screws 52, passing through slots 53 in the slides, and each slide is connected to an adjusting-screw 54, threaded in a boss 55, formed on or secured to the side of the sheave, so that the slides may be adjusted lengthwise of the radius of the sheave, and thereby change the relation of the jaw 50 to the rope or cable. Where each of these' jaws 50 is situated the sheave is provided with a recess 56 for receiving the jaw, and the outer end of each jaw is formed with a notch constituting two fingers 57 58, in which notch or between which fingers the cable rests, the notch being substantially but not accurately in line with the groove in the sheave, so that the cable will run in both the notch and the sheave-groove, but will bear in the notch before bearing in the groove, and by thus pressing against the inner finger 57 of the jaw will throw the jaw inwardly on its pivot 59, which is situated to one side of the plane of the sheave-groove, and thereby cause the outer finger 58 to press inwardly and impinge the cable. This gripping action may be modified or intensified, as conditions require, by raising or -lowering the slides 51. Each sheave may be provided with as many of these jaws 50 as desired. In this example of the invention four are shown.

As a means of attaching the cables to the buckets .l may employ any suitable clip, but preferably the form shown in the drawings, and comprising a U-shaped band 60, composed, preferably, of thin sheet metal, passing around the under side of the cable and having both of its upper branches provided with two slots through which pass T-heads 61 62, formed on the lower ends of T-bolts 63 64, respectivelyvhich pass upwardly through a block 65, saddled on the top of the cable between the branches of the U-shaped band and being slotted in its upper side, 'as shown at 66,. for the introduction of the T- head 62,'so that when the band 6() is pulled upwardly with relation to the block 65 or the latter is pushed downwardly with relation to the band the cable will be correspondingly gripped. The band 60 is shown ascut out to fit around the under side of journal-box 67, in which axle 8 is journaled, and the upper ends of the bolts 63 64 are shown as being utilized for the twofold purpose of securing TOO ITO

the cable-clipto the box and forcing the block The sides tions or bosses 68, which fit between the branches 4of the U-shaped band 60 and on top of the block 66 and have bolt-holes for the passage of the bolts 63 64, so that by tightening up the nuts 69 the band 60 will be drawn upwardly with relation to the block 65 and the cable thereby gripped and secured to the bucket.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination of two belts, means for driving said belts, means for adjusting said belts relatively to each other, and means operatively connected with the belts respectively for actuating' said adjusting' means when one belt gets in advance of the other.

2. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination of two belts, and means for driving the same, ot' independent auxiliary driving' means, and means for throwing said independent auxiliary driving means into action when one of said belts gets in advance ot' the other.

In a con'vcyer mechanism, the combination oi two belts, means for driving said belts, auxiliary driving' mechanism for said belts respectively, trips operatively connected with said belts respectively, and means acted on by said trips for actuating' said auxiliary driving' mechanism when one of said trips is changing' its relation to the other.

t. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination of two belts, means for driving' the same, auxiliary driving' mechanism for said belts respectively. trips carried by said belts respectively, and means engag'eable by said trips on one side of the eonveyer for actuating said auxiliary mechanism on the other side of the conveyer when the latter side lag's behind the former side.

5. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination of two belts, independent sheaves for driving'said belts independently, independent auxiliary driving' mechanisms for driving' said 1 sheaves independently of said lirst driving' mechanism, and means operatively connected with said belts respectively for actuating' said auxiliary driving' mechanisms respectively when one ot' said belts g'ets in advance of the other.

6. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination ot' two belts, an auxiliary driving mechanism connected with said driving' means and comprising' a ratchet independent of said driving' means, a revolving' pawl-arm connected with and driven by said driving means,

anism for said cables comprising' a ratchetwheel, a pawl-arm with reference to which said ratchet is independently movable, a pawl on said arm engaging said ratchet, a lever pivoted to said pawl-arm and having a pawl also engaging said ratchet, a lixed cam having'a non-circular cam-groove, a stud on said lever adapted to engage in said groove, a switch Jr'or throwing said stud into said noncircular groove, a trip on said switch adapted to be struck by said stud for returning the switch to its former position, and means operatively related to said cables Jfor actuating said switch to cause said stud to follow said non-circular groove.

8. 1n a conveyer mechanism, the combination of a sheave having' a cable-g'roove, a pivoted jaw having' two lingers embedded in the side of the sheave and adapted to receive the cable between them, whereby the pressure of the cable on one of said lingers will cause the other lingerto grip the cable against the side of the cable-groove.

9. In a conveyer mechanism, the combination ot' a cable, a cable-clip comprising a thin U-shaped band passing' partially around the cable, a T-bolt having' its 'IT-head engaging in the branches of said U-band, a block interposed between the cable and the head of said bolt and having a slot for said head, and means for forcing said block downwardly with relation to said band.

MARSELIUS T. ASH. lifitiiesses:

M. B. ALLs'rAn'r, F. A.' HorxiNs.

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